Superintendent Craig Tice said he was at a superintendent’s conference in Saratoga Springs earlier this week, and that he and the board needed to meet to discuss what district officials have learned so far.

The board opened the meeting to public comment before going into executive session.

Steve Schoeneck, of Roman Avenue, told board members he has known Marsh and another football coach who was with the team Saturday for several years. Schoeneck said he believes an "unorthodox approach" was used to motivate the student athletes, but he also told the board "these are not bad guys who did anything intentional."

"Would this be my approach?" Schoeneck asked. "I don’t think I would have thought of that. But I’m not a football coach. I’m not one that goes out there and tries to motivate the players."

Another resident, whose comments were stricken from the record after he would not give his name, said he thought Marsh humiliated the players.

"I don’t think a way to teach children is through humiliation," the man said. "I think what the children learn is ... are we going to teach our children through humiliation? That is my biggest concern."

Schoeneck, who has a third- and fifth-grader in the district, said teachers and coaches should be applauded for thinking outside the box to get results. He said teachers and students today face different challenges than when he went to Marcellus. One example, he said, is the way children communicate.

"They can’t text, they can’t talk to each other," he said. "If I don’t have a cell phone, how am I going to get home from practice? Wait by the flag pole like I used to.

"To get through to the kids — I’m not saying if this was the right or wrong thing to do," Schoeneck said. "I’d just hope that their whole body of work is considered."

The board did not take any action after meeting in executive session Wednesday evening. Tice said he did not expect the board to have to meet again to take any action, however the next regularly scheduled school board meeting is at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the high school library.

Board president David Kelly said Wednesday was the first time the board met since the incident Saturday.

"There’s been a lot of information gathered from the internal investigation and rest assured, we will be as fair as possible," Kelly said.

Schoeneck asked the board to consider all the facts.

"Don’t fall under a lot of public opinion or public pressure to do something about it," he said. "I know this is a tough job for all of you to deal with — these are employees, but also coaches who are putting a lot of their time into this. This is not just a money-making thing for them. This is because they care about the kids."

Tice said he plans to meet with the coaches involved again and then release more information Thursday "so we can put this behind us and move forward."